Chapter 15 The Dowry Must Belong to the Titan Family
Mephist was stunned when he heard this. "But Anne doesn't have a lover."
Although he didn't dare have improper thoughts about his beautiful sister-in-law or pry too much, he learned about Anne's lifestyle from the servants' casual talk. When managing family affairs, Anne spent most of her time in the study handling important matters with her maid until dark. Now that she had relinquished power, she stayed in her room even more often. Their rooms were on the same floor, and he had never heard any sounds of her receiving male visitors.
How could a woman who lived as dully as an old nun possibly take a lover?
The Titan Old Lady looked at her still-dim eldest son and cursed his slowness and uselessness in her heart. "Whether she has one or not doesn't matter. We just need to stage this scene in the end."
She hid half her face behind her fan and sneered coldly. "Don't blame me for being ruthless. She was inconsiderate first. The family's difficulties were right in front of her eyes. Back then, I hinted around and had Trion pretend to be sick, claiming he couldn't handle family affairs, which gave Anne the opportunity to take over."
"I thought she brought such a large dowry to help support our family, but what happened? She kept it all to herself and wouldn't let a single penny slip out!"
Mephist instinctively spoke up, "But at least we didn't have to keep selling land these past three years."
He was there when they discussed Holden and Candy's marriage. When Holden mentioned the farm and tea garden on the eastern side, Mephist nearly jumped in fright. Years ago, he had lost a bet and used all of it to pay off debts. The Titan Old Lady had scolded him then, thinking Holden would eventually earn back even more rewards, but who would have thought...
"If only Holden could have received more rewards."
The Titan Old Lady was also helpless at this. She thought about how Holden had directly used his military achievements and glory from the southern campaign to merely exchange for His Majesty the King's permission for his marriage to Candy. This foolish behavior, completely disregarding the family's future, nearly made her faint with anger. She could only console herself that after they got married, she would use this connection to make minor nobles curry favor in exchange for benefits.
But that was a matter for later.
Right now, Anne's stubborn attitude suggested she might completely cut ties with the Titan family, but she would never allow that!
The Titan Old Lady's gloomy gaze swept over everyone. "That dowry must belong to our family, whether she's willing or not."
"When she dies, the Virlet family's assets will go back to the royal treasury, but the dowry will still go to Holden. You've all seen how Holden and Candy's marriage has driven a wedge between her and the Titan family. If we don't handle this soon, it will always be a problem."
"Even if we send her to a sanatorium and publicly claim she has health problems, nobles all understand what the sanatorium excuse really means."
Anyone sent to a sanatorium was either a woman abandoned by her husband or a worthless person with no value for political marriage.
Holden couldn't bear the stain of remarrying and abandoning his first wife for her sake, and his family couldn't be caught up in such gossip.
"We can only sacrifice her." She sighed with false regret. "If Anne had been more sensible, how could I bear to treat her this way?"
"Mother." Mephist was still worried. "What if the assassination fails?"
If this assassination failed, Anne wouldn't sit idle. She would contact nobles to condemn his family, and might even see the King to accuse them. That would be worse than their current money problems!
But the old woman didn't think so. In her view, a delicate lady like Anne had been raised in a greenhouse from birth, carefully nurtured like a rose. So what if her father, Duke Skoda, was a killing machine on the battlefield? A woman was still a woman. When facing a cold blade, all the screaming and begging would just be powerless struggles before death.
She waved her hand dismissively. "Your uncles and I have already discussed this. The assassin we've hired is naturally reliable. I'm calling you here just to give you a heads-up, so you don't run out when you hear noises."
"Just pretend you didn't hear anything, Mephist."
The Titan Old Lady stood up and walked to Mephist, lovingly straightening his collar, but her eyes looked exactly like those of a greedy venomous snake. "Once the dust settles, the Titan family will surely regain its former glory. All the wealth and honor will be ours. We absolutely cannot let her ruin it!"